29(^) sewmag.co.uk
Sewing with May Martin
I’ve just made a
lovely little pinafore
dress for one of my
granddaughters. The
fabric had a cerise
design on a navy background, so
I scoured the shops for a little cerise
top to complete the outfit but was out
of luck. Instead, I took an inexpensive
adult’s jersey top in the right colour
and re-cut it to fit – perfect!
While exploring a website devoted
to various decorative napkin folds
recently, I was inspired by the lotus
blossom design to create a simple
yet pretty festive decoration. You
can find several step-by-step guides
to the lotus blossom fold online
but instead of a napkin, you fold a
neatened 40cm square of Christmas
fabric. Stand a glass tea light onto
the finished flower to add a festive
finishing touch to your dining table.
I’ve also been teaching one of my
granddaughters to sew – small
projects are a fun way to learn. We
both made a roll-up pencil case
with pockets, zips and a flap with a
buttonhole, plus ties to secure.
We had a great day and I’ll be
adding it as a gift idea to my
Christmas workshops.
Tidies for pencils, make up brushes
and knitting needles make great
Christmas presents. Sew has several
FREE projects online, including a
wrap-style brush holder – check out
sewmag.co.uk/free-sewing-patterns
for some stitchy inspiration.
Happy sewing,
(^) May
MM
SEW’S EXCLUSIVE COLUMNIST REVEALS HOW
TO SEW THE PERFECT BUTTONHOLE
l On the front of the
buttonhole foot, there are
three little projections. Fold
20cm of gimp cord, crochet
yarn or topstitching thread in
half and place the loop over the
central projection at the front
of the foot.
l Feed the two parallel
thread tails under the foot to
the back of the machine. Hold
the cord taut whilst working
the buttonhole sequence. The
cord will be covered by the
buttonhole stitches.
l When you have finished, pull
the tails of cord until there is no
loop at the other end, then trim.
Buttonholes provide the
finishing touch to many
a dressmaking or soft
furnishing project, and
so it’s useful to get the
hang of sewing them on
your machine. As a rule, a
buttonhole should be 3mm
bigger than the button.
In addition, the fabric
needs to be supported by
a facing and possibly some
interfacing as this area of
the garment will be under
constant wear.
For more dressmaking advice, be sure to pick up May Martin’s Sewing Bible:
40 Years of Tips and Tricks, £25, harpercollins.co.uk
WHAT I’VE
BEEN MAKING
THIS MONTH
PREPARING TO SEW
l Mark the buttonhole position with a row of tacking
or a retractable chalk pencil.
l Experiment with loosening the top tension on your sewing
machine by setting to a lower number. This will allow a
rounder stitch to form on the right side of the buttonhole.
l Practise the buttonhole on similar layers of fabric to those
in your project first.
MAKING THE CUT
Cut the buttonhole using either a small chisel or seam ripper.
When using the latter, always put a pin in either end of the
buttonhole to stop the ripper accidentally cutting into the
edge of the garment.
When I was in the
sixth form at school,
I made a raincoat
to take on a biology
field trip. The night
before, I made the
buttonholes but
forgot to put pins
in the ends and
cut through them
straight to the front
of the coat!
SEWING UP
Depending on your machine model, a buttonhole can be
worked in several ways – check the manual to see how yours
works one and go from there.
One-step buttonhole
These are created when the buttonhole foot has the back
extended and the button has been inserted. There is a lever
behind the foot that needs to be pulled down to engage
with it – otherwise the machine will have no reference of the
required buttonhole length and won’t work.
May’s
TOP TIPS
Experiment with your
machine’s tension
depending on your fabric
Cord your buttonhole for
a professional finish!
Four-step buttonhole
Attach the buttonhole foot and
dial through the four stages of
the buttonhole. When you’ve
finished one, it’s important to
click the dial off and on again
before continuing – otherwise the
machine won’t know that you’re
about to start a new buttonhole!
If using a thick denim,
flatten the area first!